Bengal: Pregnant woman loses baby after alleged assault by BJP workers

Cooch Behar: A pregnant woman in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district lost her baby after allegedly being assaulted while trying to protect her husband from an attack by suspected BJP workers, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Priya Pal, who was eight months pregnant, was injured in the incident on Wednesday when she intervened as a group of men allegedly attacked her husband, Debajit Barman, a private tutor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporter.

The couple was taken to a sub-divisional hospital following the assault. Pal delivered a stillborn baby on Friday, Barman said. Doctors had reportedly expected her delivery in December.

Barman has lodged a police complaint against 10 people at Sahebganj police station. Police have arrested two people in connection with the incident, both allegedly linked to the BJP.

However, BJP leaders have rejected claims that the accused were party workers, maintaining that the assault arose from a separate dispute involving the woman.

The incident has brought renewed attention to allegations of political violence involving pregnant women in the district. In August last year, the BJP had accused TMC workers of attacking one of its eight-month-pregnant supporters in Salmara village in Dinhata. The TMC had denied the allegation and attributed the incident to internal BJP rivalry and local opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).